Latest Articles
Back
Prison reforms
Prison reforms
''Hate the crime not the criminal''- Mahatma Gandhi
All men are born equal and are endowed by their creator with some basic rights. These basic rights include right to life and personal liberty, right to express himself and many more. And these rights should not be taken away at any circumstances whether they are hard core criminals or any other ordinary human being. Many experts have opined that the main objective of prisons is to bring the offenders back to the mainstream of the society.
With the problem of overcrowding, unhealthy surroundings, inadequate facilities and care there arises a need to reform the Indian prisons. In India, there are 149 jails that are overcrowded by more than 100 percent and that eight of them are overcrowded by margins of 500 per cent. The basic problem of overcrowding arises because the number of under trial prisoners is more as compared to the convicts. The methods to reduce overcrowding in jails like release on parole, probation, bail and fine should be implemented more efficiently. Indian prisons are a perfect picture of rusty, outdated and neglected place for housing humans. The suffering of women prisoners is a long known fact. Custodial torture, sexual assault and rapes are some of the common problems faced by women prisoners. When a women prisoner gives birth to a child in the prison, even the child has to suffer as it is legally impossible to separate the child and the mother. Due to this the child has to spend his entire childhood in the four walls of prisons. There have been instances where inmates build strong network of connections inside the jail and indulge in drug dealings and sexual assault with the help of attendants. The fact that they are not exposed to a good environment may lead to the conversion of petty criminals into hard core criminals. It is thereby needless to say that all such conditions leads to a negative impact on the mental health as well.
Though we have various committee reports and recommendations made by Justice Mulla and Justice Krishna Iyer Committee on Prisoners Report, 1987 but there is lack of implementation. The main reason behind this suffering is that the Indian prisons are governed by the 123 year old law- The Prisons Act, 1984.Therefore, the prisoners must be provided with adequate rehabilitation programmes and vocational training facilities in order to keep them busy and productive. Appropriate steps must be taken against drug abuse, heath problems, homosexual abuses, and prison violence. The jail superintendents can be involved in conducting Lok Adalats frequently in jail so as to dispose off petty issues. The entire perspective about jail inmates needs to be changed and the fact that they are human beings should not be overlooked.
